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Aurora: Driving to the beaches up north

“What are the beaches for, but to beach around with their fellow beaches?” – Joey Gosengfiao’s Temptation Island

If you feel that you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, here’s how to put a little bit of perspective to where you are in the scheme of things: look out into the ocean and imagine yourself swimming in the middle of the vast blue expanse.

You are but a tiny speck. A microscopic dot of a microscopic dot in a solar system at the far corner of the universe.

Driving for two hours to Aurora’s northern parts, you could choose among several beaches from which you could carry on with your existentialist thoughts. But if I were you, I would just enjoy the fantastic view.

Ampere Beach in Dipaculan. The entire shoreline is paved by smooth, evenly sized stones, with crashing waves for full effect. Haven’t seen this anywhere else.

Then a little further up is Borlongan Beach, where the water is calmer, in all the shades of blue imaginable. That lonely electric post is the only sign of civilization in the area. I appreciate little details such as this. During the trip I also saw little girls inspecting each other’s hair for lice, and a man who was about to get his hair cut in his front yard.

I also have this thing for clotheslines. Maybe I’m a voyeur like that.

My guide, an ex-Aurora Tourism Officer-turned-Dubai Expat-turned-Vietnam veteran-turned-entrepreneur, aimed to take me to Dinadiawan Beach for the finale. But it was not as charming as it once was; development has caught up with the area and there’s now a spanking new beach resort, catering to tourists from nearby Isabela.

Nothing against progress; however, the beach along the way to Dinadiawan was much nicer. And it’s still free.

As they say, just as important as reaching the main destination is the pleasure of getting there.